In his review of the 12th matchday of the Jupiler Pro League, Peter Vandenbempt talks about “a dragon of a match” between Club Brugge and Antwerp. Our commentator sees that football is deteriorating at the national champion, in contrast to KAA Gent. Read and listen to the weekly football analysis here.
Result football in Bruges
Club Brugge and Antwerp presented you with a hell of a match yesterday.
Whether Club has now been launched? No one dares to put their hand in the fire for that.
Of course they hope so in Bruges. Hans Vanaken said that confidence is gradually returning after two good results.
Happiness is still fragile now. Yesterday Antwerp and Club Brugge played poor football, the match did not deserve a winner.
Club Brugge has clearly opted for realism. Coach Ronny Deila has bowed to the pressure – or call it good advice – to abandon his adventurous principles. He chose the result against Antwerp.
That is not a wrong choice at the moment. It remains to be seen how long Club Brugge will play football this way. Certainly against Union and Cercle Brugge, I think.
If that works out well, perhaps more attention will be paid to Deila’s football. Or not at all.
Antwerp’s snooze button
National champion and cup winner Antwerp has dropped out of the top 6 and is already 11 points behind leader Union.
Yet the room is not on fire at the Bosuil. Thanks to last year’s double and qualifying for the Champions League.
Antwerp did not have to lose yesterday. After the 1-1 I had the impression that Antwerp was more inclined to win than Club Brugge, but the result is negative.
I find it striking how much the players and the coach are still at ease, after truly dramatic results.
While Antwerp is declining in football. The team still defends strongly, but can be caught making mistakes and conceding goals. And offensively the champion hardly creates any chances.
Mark van Bommel should not feel too comfortable.
Last season Antwerp won difficult matches. At that time, reservations were waved away, the result was paramount.
You cannot continue to make the statement that you deserved more.
After the 5-0 collapse, chairman Paul Gheysens talked about a wake-up call. I can only conclude that Antwerp pushed the snooze button and turned around again.
Within the club, some believe that the bottom has gradually been reached, that the table can indeed be beaten and that Mark van Bommel can think about a different approach. The trainer should not feel too comfortable.
This week’s schedule looks treacherous. On Wednesday, Antwerp will play against Lierse in the cup, and on Saturday – the in-form team – Racing Genk will visit.
No one in Antwerp can afford another week like the previous one. Sometimes a little crisis doesn’t hurt.
Is Mark van Bommel thinking about a different approach?
Hoenderfris football in Ghent
After celebrating twice against Club Brugge and Anderlecht, it was now a defeat for Standard.
Davy Roef was there at the important moments for KAA Gent. His penalty stats are impressive.
The only one who did not know the numbers was Standard striker Wilfried Kanga. He kicked the same way twice, not smart.
It was a painful awakening for Standard, although they could just as easily have lost to Anderlecht and Club Brugge. The first half again went tragically bad.
Standard away from home makes a world of difference. And then goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart was the mega star.
You can describe Ghent – Standard as the match of missed penalties, but I prefer to look back on it as that of an excellent footballing KAA Gent.
I thought they played very well, especially in the second part of the first half. We got to see tempo football, good pressing, depth on the flanks, a lot of movement and a truckload of opportunities.
Ghent has already played 21 matches this season and yet it still produces very fresh football. A huge difference with the struggles of Club Brugge and Antwerp.
Congratulations to KAA Gent!
Peter Vandenbempt
2023-10-30 09:00:46
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